Praying To Deceased Loved Ones

My family has experienced several deaths over the last few years and remaining family members have dealt with the grief in a variety of ways. Often, I am told that they will also pray to the deceased during prayers with God. Additionally, several family members believe they have seen the ghost of recently departed love ones. My questions are related to the above scenarios. Can we and should we address our deceased love ones during prayer? Do you believe that deceased love ones are sometimes allowed to appear to surviving family members or is this something else such as psychological effects of grief or even something more sinister?

A

The Bible makes it clear that we are to pray only to God and Jesus. Praying to the deceased implies that we believe they have the power to answer us. They don’t. The appearance of departed loved ones is a sinister trick designed to accomplish the very thing you’ve described. Taking the emphasis off God and ascribing His powers to others.

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Jack Kelley published over 9,000 Bible Study resources here from 1999, until the Lord called him home in the fall of 2015. His teachings made the Bible clear and easy to understand, and impacted millions of lives. He is the author of all the teachings here, and all materials are available free of charge! His wife Samantha maintains this site as well as their missionary outreaches.